"the beautiful and the ominous mingle in thoughtfully poetic ways" - Village Voice

MANIFESTO ON DANCE

A dancer can bound gracefully through the space only to land in a beautiful, gawky perch. The art of this kind of communication is in its sensation, mystery, interpretation and presentation. Modern dance allures the enthusiast to be greater than herself and offers a variety of forms in which to do so. Each form possesses the chance to discover the inner connections between body, self and motion. Dance offers language, sensation, inner contemplation and outward presentation. These skills learned through practice and discipline can support the chance to be fearless and test the edge of movement as well as present an inner feeling to the observer.

Dance is a vehicle for heightened awareness of the moment. It offers a ride from the modest to the extreme by requesting attention to each moment of the journey. In dance class the initiation, through transition and to the end of the journey are felt, focused on, and analyzed. Each dance moment speaks of sensation and the knowledge possessed by the artist. Dance provides even the novice with an education in concentration, discipline, recall, spontaneity, preparation and ultimate reverence for the art form.

A small twitch of the eye as well as a large circle carved with the foot intimates meaning. Dance is the art of language through movement. It is the small, mysterious conversations between self and others. Dance explores extreme, space-eating movement, subtle virtuosity and the grace in between.

Colleen Thomas' teaching philosophy allows students to discover their innate qualities while developing an aligned body. This knowledge creates versatility, and disrupts the hierarchy of technique and style.